Bible Verses About Singleness #38

Singleness is sometimes treated as an incomplete or waiting state, but the Bible speaks of it as a genuine calling with its own advantages, most directly in Paul’s own teaching and example. Far from dismissing the unmarried, Scripture makes room for singleness as a way of life devoted fully to God.

Key Bible Verses About Singleness

• 1 Corinthians 7:7-8 — Paul writes, “I wish that all were as I myself am. But each has his own gift from God… To the unmarried and the widows I say that it is good for them to remain single, as I am.”
• 1 Corinthians 7:32-35 — “The unmarried man is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to please the Lord,” free from the divided concerns marriage brings.
• 1 Corinthians 7:34 — “The unmarried or betrothed woman is anxious about the things of the Lord, how to be holy in body and spirit.”
• Matthew 19:12 — Jesus speaks of those who “have made themselves eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven,” adding, “let the one who is able to receive this receive it.”
• Isaiah 56:4-5 — God promises the eunuch who keeps his covenant “a monument and a name better than sons and daughters… an everlasting name that shall not be cut off.”

What These Verses Teach

These passages push back on the idea that a person’s life is incomplete without marriage or children. Paul explicitly calls singleness a “gift,” on par with marriage rather than beneath it, and identifies its practical advantage: undivided devotion to the Lord’s work without the competing responsibilities marriage brings. Isaiah’s promise to the eunuch — someone who in that culture had no hope of descendants — shows God offering identity and legacy that don’t depend on marriage or children at all.

Living It Out

Living this out means single believers can pursue undistracted service and devotion to God as a real calling rather than a waiting room before “real life” begins, using the freedom Paul describes rather than feeling defined by its absence. It also means churches and families should honor singleness the way Scripture does — not treating unmarried adults as incomplete, but recognizing the same value and purpose Isaiah promises to those without spouse or children.